Wizards advance easily

Nene of the Wizards drives past Joakim Noah of the Bulls in Nene's return after a one-game suspension for head-butting. The Wizards eliminated the Bulls and will play the Hawks-Pacers winner. Getty Images

CHICAGO — John Wall finished with 24, Nene scored 20, and the Wizards beat the Bulls 75-69 on Tuesday to clinch their first-round series in five games.

Bradley Beal scored 17, and the fifth-seeded Wizards advanced in the postseason for just the third time since 1979. They will meet Indiana or Atlanta in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

It's a huge step for a franchise that hadn't been to the postseason since 2008, but with Wall and Beal leading the way, they won 44 games during the regular season.

The Bulls expected to challenge the Heat for supremacy in the East with Derrick Rose back after sitting out last season, only to lose their star to another season-ending knee injury. As if that wasn't enough, they traded away Luol Deng to the Cavaliers yet somehow squeezed out 48 victories.

In Game 5, the Wizards turned a halftime tie into a nine-point lead heading into the fourth quarter and hung on down the stretch.

Chicago's comeback chances were hampered in the fourth quarter when Taj Gibson crumbled to the court clutching his left ankle. He had to be helped off the court and did not return.

The Bulls cut it to 70-67 on a jumper by Carlos Boozer with 3:32 left. Wall then poked the ball away from Boozer and nailed a jumper at the shot-clock buzzer. Chicago hit two free throws with 2:18 remaining to cut it back down to three, but the Wizards grabbed three offensive rebounds while whittling more than a minute off the clock before Beal, a former Florida star, threw the ball away with a minute left in the game.

Boozer missed on a drive, but the Bulls had another chance after a shot-clock violation by Washington with 22.4 seconds left. Chicago's Jimmy Butler missed on a layup off the inbounds, and the Wizards caught a break after Andre Miller missed two free throws.

Beal tracked down the loose ball and hit the first free throw to make it 73-69 with 14.6 seconds left before missing the second. But again, the Wizards got the rebound. This time it was Nene, and that led to two free throws by Wall with 7.8 seconds remaining.

Wall and Nene, back from a one-game suspension for grabbing Butler's head, both had seven rebounds. Marcin Gortat scored just two points but grabbed 13 boards.

Butler and Kirk Hinrich scored 16 each and Gibson had 12. Joakim Noah added 18 rebounds and seven assists. Boozer, a candidate to be amnestied, added 10 points and nine rebounds in what might have been his final appearance for Chicago.

LATE MONDAY: San Antonio's Boris Diaw hit a go-ahead 3-pointer for the last of his 17 points, Manu Ginobili scored 23 and the top-seeded Spurs beat the host Mavericks 93-89 in Game 4, pulling even in their first-round playoff series.

"You've got to give up something," said Dirk Nowitzki, who was running at Diaw as the shot was released. "That was a tough one."

Diaw put the Spurs up 90-87 with 32 seconds remaining. Nowitzki scored on a missed 3-pointer by Monta Ellis to get Dallas within 90-89 with 19 seconds left. But the Mavericks let nearly 10 seconds run off the clock before fouling Ginobili.

Ginobili missed one of the free throws, giving Ellis a chance to tie on a driving layup. Ellis, who led the Mavericks with 20, missed again to finish a 6-of-20 shooting night.

Game 5 is tonight in San Antonio. Spurs guard Tony Parker has a mild left ankle sprain and will be re-evaluated before the game. No MRI and X-rays were planned. Parker had a series-low 10 points on Monday.

Mavericks center DeJuan Blair was suspended for tonight's game for kicking Tiago Splitter of the Spurs in the head.

FIRED assistant MAY HAVE taped TALKS: Former Warriors assistant coach Darren Erman recorded conversations of coaches and players without their knowledge before being fired by the team this month, espn.com reported.

It's unclear what Erman did with the alleged recordings. Golden State fired Erman on April 5 for what the team called a "violation of company policy." The Warriors neither confirmed nor denied the report.

Since his firing, Erman was hired as a scout for the Celtics.

Erman was the second assistant dismissed from Mark Jackson's staff this season. Jackson reassigned Brian Scalabrine to the team's NBA Development League team in March.

All games at 7 p.m. FridayClass 8ANaples Gulf Coast (25-2) at Tampa Bay Tech (25-3): The Titans are coming off a 62-44 win over Countryside. They are clearly playing some good basketball at the right time. Junior Jalyn Spurlin scored 12 poi...

PORT CHARLOTTE — Going against popular opinion, here's an odd thought to ponder:What if the Rays actually know what they're doing?The deal agreed to Wednesday afternoon with veteran outfielder Carlos Gomez — one year for a hefty-for-them ...

This isn't the first time Brentson Buckner has wanted to get closer to the Bucs defensive line.As a defensive tackle for the Panthers, Buckner's team went 7-9 in 2002, the inaugural season for the NFC South.Tampa Bay won the division that year, and w...

PORT CHARLOTTE — It was another morning after at Charlotte Sports Park and Rays Bargain Clearance Barn. This time it's Steven Souza Jr., man of a thousand faces. He gone.What else is new at the incredible shrinking baseball team?It's spri...

PORT CHARLOTTE – Dick Vitale, the Rays' most visible and, as of late, vocal fan, took to Twitter and the 620-AM airwaves Wednesday morning and later in the day in a phone call to the Tampa Bay Times to blast his local baseball team.Vitale, ESPN...

When the Lightning put wing Ryan Callahan back on the power play a month ago, there were many reasons for the move.With Ondrej Palat suffering a lower-body injury Jan. 20, Tampa Bay needed a replacement who was fearless in front of the net and a rele...

GANGNEUNG, South Korea — Mia Manganello crossed the finish line, glanced at the video board and yelled. She then grabbed hands with American teammates Heather Bergsma and Brittany Bowe, and the trio thrust their arms in the air. The Americans had re...

DAEGWALLYEONG, South Korea — The unattainable had become inevitable, and Kikkan Randall started screaming at the top of her lungs. She was standing under the lights, at the finish line of Alpensia Cross-Country Skiing Center, imploring her team sprin...